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"Zombie" is a protest song by Irish alternative rock band the Cranberries, written by the band's lead singer Dolores O'Riordan about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. It was released on 19 September 1994 by Island Records as the lead single from their second studio album, No Need to Argue (1994), two weeks ahead of the album's release. Music critics have long recognized "Zombie" as "a masterpiece of alternative rock", as well as a grunge number uncharacteristic of the band's other work.
The song was written in response to the death of Johnathan Ball, aged 3, and Tim Parry, aged 12, both of whom had been killed in the Warrington bombings, when two IRA improvised explosive devices hidden in litter bins were detonated in a shopping street in Warrington, England.
"Zombie" was released with a music video in October 1994. The video was directed by Samuel Bayer, and produced by Doug Friedman and HSI. Productions. The music video was filmed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the heart of the Troubles with real footage, and in Dublin.
In the video, O'Riordan is covered in gold makeup and appears in front of a giant cross with a group of boys covered in silver makeup holding bows and arrows. The video also includes clips of local children playing war games, a performance by the band, and of British soldiers from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (as evident from their thin red line tactical recognition flashes) on patrol in Northern Ireland. It also features shots of various murals (IRA, UDA, UFF, UVF, Bobby Sands). In April 2020, it became the first song by an Irish group to surpass one billion views on YouTube.
"Zombie" reached No. 1 on the charts of Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, and Iceland, and although it did not chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, it did reach No. 1 on the US Billboard Alternative Airplay chart. In addition, the song was voted by Australian radio Triple J listeners as No. 1 on the 1994 Triple J Hottest 100 chart. It won the Best Song Award at the 1995 MTV Europe Music Awards. The accompanying music video was directed by Samuel Bayer.
In 2017, the song was released as an acoustic, stripped-down version on the band's Something Else album.
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